CATL has announced their spring programs and upcoming deadlines which include:
Spring Programs:
- Workshop: Making sense of your results from the new “Student Perceptions of Teaching” form. February 10, 12:15-1:25 p
- Workshop with Derek Bruff (Vanderbilt University): Using classroom response systems to enhance student engagement . February 20th, 3:45 – 5:15 pm
- Workshop with Derek Bruff (Vanderbilt University): Can social media help students learn to think and write? February 21st, 4:10-5:30 pm
- Speed teaching workshop (with David Copeland, Linda Niedziela, Kevin O’Mara, and Terry Tomasek) – February 27, 12:10 – 1:20 pm, Belk Pavilion 208
- Charles Blaich (Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts, Wabash College): Improving student learning: What do we know, and what should we do? March 8th, 4:10-5:30 pm
- A reading group on Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do (2010) by Claude Steele (Stanford University)
- A reading and research group on threshold concepts
Later in the spring CATL will have workshops based on John Bean’s new book, Engaging Ideas: The Professor’s Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning into the Classroom (2011, 2nd ed).:
- Helping students read difficult texts
- Using small groups to facilitate critical thinking and disciplinary argument
CATL also will sponsor course design groups for faculty (or faculty-student teams) working to redesign an existing course or to create a new one. For more information on course design groups, contact Peter Felten.
Spring Deadlines:
- Diversity Infusion Project applications due March 5
- Teaching and Learning Grant applications are due March 12
- Summer Teaching Renewal Retreat for Mid- and Late-Career Faculty applications due March 12
- Faculty Writing Residency applications due April 9
Details about these upcoming deadlines are available online at www.elon.edu/teaching. Keep reading (or go online) to find information about CATL’s early programs, including details about how to register/apply for each.
This also is a good time to schedule a mid-course focus group or a consultation about your teaching. For more information on CATL’s consultations, visit www.elon.edu/teaching or, to schedule a focus group, contact Barbara Guy, x5100 or bguy@elon.edu.
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Making sense of your results from the new “Student Perceptions of Teaching” form.
February 10th, 12:15-1:25pm, location tba.
This discussion (a repeat of the session held in January) will focus on what and how faculty can learn from Elon’s new end-of-term teaching evaluation form, the Student Perceptions of Teaching. The session will highlight some of the research on teaching evaluations, but most of our conversation will be about practical ways to use the quantitative and qualitative results from the form to enhance our own teaching and our students’ learning. Please note that CATL is not involved in administering or using the SPT form; we help faculty use the results to enhance teaching and learning. Lunch will be available, so please RSVP by February 2nd, including any dietary restrictions, to Barbara Guy (bguy@elon.edu).
Using classroom response systems to enhance student engagement.
A workshop with Derek Bruff (Vanderbilt University, author of Teaching with Classroom Response Systems: Creating Active Learning Environments, 2009)
February 20th, 3:45-5:15pm, Belk Pavilion 201
Classroom response systems (“clickers”) are technologies that enable teachers to rapidly collect and analyze student responses to multiple-choice questions during class. Although clickers can be used to ask students the kinds of multiple-choice questions you might put on a test, other kinds of questions can often promote deeper learning. In this talk, we’ll explore ways to craft clicker questions that help students to engage more meaningfully with course content, including questions designed to address student misconceptions, surface student opinions and experiences, and foster critical thinking skills. We’ll also discuss strategies for leading class discussions using clicker questions that frame and motivate those discussions. (RSVP by February 13 to Barbara Guy, bguy@elon.edu. Space is limited for this workshop so RSVP soon.)
Can social media help students learn to think and write?
A workshop with Derek Bruff (Vanderbilt University, http://tinyurl.com/socialpeds)
February 21st, 4:10-5:30 pm, location TBA
Social media like Twitter sometimes are critiqued as creating a superficial approach to reading and thinking that is leading inevitably to the dumbing down of our culture and our brains. Can tools like Twitter or social bookmarking or (fill-in your favorite villain or curiosity here) actually be used to help students learn to think critically and to write effectively? This workshop will explore the possibilities and perils of social pedagogies. You do not need to be tech-savvy to attend or to adapt the ideas discussed in your classes. (RSVP by February 13 to Barbara Guy, bguy@elon.edu.)
A new opportunity for learning from the best through Speed Teaching.
February 27 – 12:10pm – Belk Pavilion 208
Ever want to talk with teaching award winners about the secrets of their success? Come to “Speed Teaching,” a creative blend of pedagogy and “speed dating.” Four award-winning professors – David Copeland (Communications), Linda Niedziela (Biology), Kevin O’Mara (Management), and Terry Tomasek (Education) – each will quickly introduce one teaching technique that has worked for them. Attendees will have a short 15-minute “date” with one award winner, then move on to 15 minutes with another, and then 15 minutes with one more. Lunch will be available, so please RSVP by February 20, including any dietary restrictions, to Barbara Guy (x5100 or bguy@elon.edu).
Reading group: A reading group on Whistling Vivaldi (2010) by Claude Steele. Steele, a Stanford psychologist, argues that “identity threats” play an important role in some of society’s most important social problems and affect the way students perform in certain situations. Yet he believes there are small, feasible things can be done to reduce “stereotype threats” and racial, gender and social class achievement gaps in schools and classrooms. This reading group will meet three times during the semester (at dates/times that work for group members) to discuss Steele’s research and to consider the practical implications it has for our teaching and for our students’ learning. To sign up for the group and to get your copy of the book, contact Barbara Guy (x5100 or bguy@elon.edu) by February 8.
Threshold Concepts reading & research group: Learning is more than the acquisition of knowledge and skills; it can also transform the way we look at the world. A growing number of faculty looking at how students encounter Threshold Concepts – key, complex and often difficult ideas that have the potential open up new ways of understanding. Join this ongoing discussion and research group and we’ll catch you up on what we’ve learned. Please RSVP to, or ask questions of, Katie King (kingcath@elon.edu or x6449) by February 6.
Upcoming Deadlines:
Diversity Infusion Project applications due March 5 at 5 pm: Consistent with Elon University’s unprecedented commitment to diversity and global engagement, the Diversity Infusion Project’s purpose is to develop and implement strategies to infuse the curriculum and pedagogies of the University with best practices related to diversity, broadly defined.
For more information about these grants and application materials see http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/teaching/diversity.xhtml. If you have questions please contact Peter Felten.
Teaching and Learning Grants – applications due March 12: CATL’s Teaching and Learning Grants program supports innovative teaching and learning projects. Grants typically range from $1,000 to $5,000, although smaller and larger proposals will be considered. Grants generally support start-up and one-time expenses (materials, stipends, and so on), rather than paying for ongoing operational costs. These grants will not fund a course release. Applications will be reviewed by a faculty committee each fall and spring semester. Spring 2012 applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 12. Information about these grants and the application form are online at www.elon.edu/teaching. For more information about Teaching and Learning Grants, contact Peter Felten.
Summer Teaching Renewal Retreat for Mid- and Late-Career Faculty May 29-June1, 2012: Mid-career and late career faculty members are invited to join faculty from Wake Forest University, North Carolina A&T, UNC Greensboro and other regional colleges and universities for a four day early summer retreat. The retreat will include time to work on specific teaching projects, opportunities to interact with colleagues from across the state, workshops and book discussion groups and personal coaching opportunities. Tai Chi & meditation sessions will be offered and participants will have ample time to enjoy the grounds and amenities at the beautiful Graylyn Conference Center in Winston Salem. Applications due March 12, 2012 – CATL website for details. Questions? Contact Katie King (x6449 kingcath@elon.edu)
Faculty Writing Residency – Applications due April 9th
The Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and the Writing Across the Curriculum Program are pleased to sponsor the fifth annual Faculty Writing Residency, May 29-June 1, at Timberlake Farms. This four day writing retreat is intended to catalyze faculty writing about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning. We welcome applications from faculty writers at any stage of their writing project—from beginning ideas to completed drafts. Applicants, however, must be available for all four days to focus on their writing and be working on projects that they can further develop through the residency activities (dedicated time/space for writing and daily feedback from colleagues). Writers receive a small stipend for their participation, and most past participants of the Writing Residency have publish their work. Application materials are available on the CATL web site.